Speculative Fiction Writer

Oct 5, 2014

I read the first in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder, before I left for Ethiopia and it's sequel Scarlet was the first book I checked out from the San Fransisco library once I got my library card.

I have fondness for mythology, and fairy tales fit into that, so how could I resist a science fiction retelling of them?

Scarlet is a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. The book starts off with her upset about the police not believing her grandmother was kidnapped and making a scene at a bar sticking up for the cyber girl at the ball - Cinder from Book 1. What follows is parallel story of Scarlet trying to find her grandmother with the help of a street fighter named Wolf and Cinder's own journey escaping from the New Beijing. And looming ever closer is the treat of war with Luna.

I think what I most liked about this book was the obvious hints to the fairytales and fantasy conventions without Meyer outright saying them. It's obvious the Lunar forces, with their teeth and howls and being from the Moon, are werewolves but it isn't outright said. Scarlet gets lost in the French woods for a bit, looking for her grandmother. Cinder runs, leaving not just a glass slipper behind, but a whole limb.

The other part I liked was its unpredictability. I love guessing a plot twist and being right, but I adore it when I'm wrong and yet it still makes sense. Wolf's character is amazing, I still can't fully tell where he sits, and the mystery that wraps up Scarlet's grandmother is equally enjoyable.

I'm really upset that there's 25 holds in front of me for the next book in the series. I'll be lucky if a copy is in my hands before Thanksgiving.